When Jackie Musial saw 23-year-old Ashley Kirilow in bail court Monday, she had trouble recognizing the woman she once considered a friend.

Ashley Kirilow has admitted she shaved her head, plucked her eyelashes and starved herself to appear as a chemotherapy patient at benefit concerts held for her.

By:Jennifer YangStaff Reporter, Published on Mon Aug 09 2010

When Jackie Musial saw Ashley Kirilow in bail court Monday, she had trouble recognizing the woman she once considered a friend.

For the first time since they met approximately half a year ago, Kirilow has hair on her head.

“She looks healthy,” said Musial, a 21-year-old student from Oakville. “The last time I saw her, she looked like a cancer patient. I’ve never seen her with hair.”

Kirilow, a 23-year-old Burlington woman, has admitted to faking cancer and creating a bogus charity to raise money for her personal use. According to friends and family, Kirilow — who shaved her head and plucked her eyebrows to maintain her ruse — has bilked supporters of more than $13,000 in donations.

On Friday, Kirilow turned herself in to an Oakville police station. The young woman now stands charged on three counts of fraud under $5,000.

With a full head of brown hair — long enough to tuck behind her ears — Kirilow appeared briefly in a Milton courtroom Monday morning after spending the weekend in jail. Dressed in blue runners and a pale, peach-coloured frock, she kept her eyes mostly downcast and said her name for the court in a quiet, quavering voice.

Aside from several reporters, Musial and her friend Meredith Dejonge were the only ones to attend Kirilow’s bail hearing.

With no one willing to post her bail, Kirilow was remanded back into custody until her next court appearance on Wednesday. A publication ban has been placed on the proceedings.

For Musial, she is unsurprised no one has volunteered to act as Kirilow’s surety.

“She’s betrayed a lot of people,” she said. “I don’t know anyone who’s willing to stand up for her at this point.”

Kirilow’s father, Mike, said his estranged daughter called him the night before her bail hearing and pleaded with him to attend.

He said it was a difficult decision to make but he and his family have agreed not to bail Ashley out. She has lied to them one too many times, he said.

“We all love Ashley, we've never stopped loving Ashley,” Kirilow said quietly. “We're just very hurt and upset that she's put us through all of this.”

“She had every opportunity to come clean and she did not.”

Kirilow said his family is devastated by Ashley’s actions and he is now trying to shield her seven siblings from the media glare.

“We don't want our faces shown so that when we walk through the streets, people would point,” he said.

Kirilow is unsettled by the many death threats that have been posted online, targeting both his daughter and the duped volunteers with her charity. He hopes people will instead concentrate their energies toward supporting legitimate cancer charities, such as Skate4Cancer led by Newmarket skateboarder Rob Dyer, who once took Ashley Kirilow to Disney World.

“I understand the anger. There's no excuse for it, but Ashley is in the hands of the justice system now,” Kirilow said. “I hope when all is said and done, she really understands the seriousness of what she’s done.”

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